Ending corporate personhood via a Constitutional Amendment: we are on our way.

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Tuesday November 22, 2011 · 8:53 AM PST

2011/11/22 · 08:53

The movement to overturn corporate personhood and the Citizens United ruling achieved a major breakthrough last week. Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA) introduced a Constitutional Amendment last Tuesday that makes clear that corporations are not people and do not have the rights of people under the US Constitution.

Here’s a very short video (1 :57) of Rep. McGovern discussing why this is so important.

To see the full text of the Amendment and sign on to support it (and to watch the video, if you can’t see it above), please visit our campaign page:

http://PeoplesRightsAmendment.org

john bonifaz

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Thursday October 20, 2011 · 9:44 AM PDT

2011/10/20 · 09:44

I visited Occupy Wall Street on Monday and, with a board member of Free Speech For People, we interviewed people about why they were there and about their views of the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. FEC and the claim of corporate constitutional rights.

We just posted this video of our interview with Danny, who has been involved with Occupy Wall Street from day one. He says he identifies with the Tea Party on certain issues. He is an example of the moment we face in this country to unite people across the political spectrum around that common vision of government of, for, and by the people.

Check it out here, and check out our other video combining excerpts from interviews we did on Monday.

And join us at Free Speech For People to reclaim our democracy!

First Court Challenge to Citizens United v. FEC

john bonifaz

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Tuesday May 17, 2011 · 11:57 AM PDT

2011/05/17 · 11:57

The US Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. FEC is facing its first direct challenge in the courts. A coalition that includes two national business networks and local Montana businesses recently joined the State of Montana in defense of its century-old ban on corporate money in elections. Montana’s Corrupt Practices Act, which goes back to 1912, is under legal attack following the Supreme Court’s January 2010 decision in Citizens United, which equated corporations with people under the First Amendment and swept away longstanding precedent that had barred corporate expenditures in federal elections.

Led by Free Speech For People, a national campaign to overturn the Citizens United ruling, the coalition filed a friend-of-the-court brief on April 29, 2011, before the Montana Supreme Court in the case of Western Tradition Partnership, Inc. v. State of Montana. In October 2010, a state judge hearing the case in Helena, Montana, struck down Montana’s Corrupt Practices Act, applying the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United. Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock has appealed that judge’s opinion to the state’s highest court.

john bonifaz

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Sunday October 31, 2010 · 1:15 PM PDT

2010/10/31 · 13:15

Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, and Andrew Goodman. When I think about the right to vote, I think about them. There are countless others, many of whose names we do not know. People in our history who have stood up, who have fought, who have died for the right to vote.

As we know, Schwerner, Chaney, and Goodman were young civil rights workers in Mississippi in the summer of 1964 who were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan for fighting for the right of African-Americans to vote. Their murders captured the attention of the nation and helped lead the way to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

john bonifaz

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Monday October 04, 2010 · 8:25 AM PDT

2010/10/04 · 08:25

As the Supreme Court returns today for its new term, a bipartisan group of law professors and prominent attorneys, including seven former state attorneys general, has issued a letter criticizing the Court’s ruling in January in Citizens United v. FEC, which equated corporate spending in elections with free speech rights, and calling on Congress to consider a constitutional amendment to overturn the decision.

Free Speech for People and People For the American Way announced the release of the letter, which was signed by more than fifty leading law professors and attorneys, including former Massachusetts Attorneys General Frank Bellotti and Scott Harshbarger; former Mississippi Attorney General Michael Moore; former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods; leading constitutional scholars; and numerous former federal and state prosecutors from across the country.

john bonifaz

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Sunday August 22, 2010 · 6:48 AM PDT

2010/08/22 · 06:48

Randy Parraz, Democratic candidate for the US Senate in Arizona, is poised to pull off a major upset in the Democratic primary this coming Tuesday in Arizona. As I previously explained here, Parraz is the best challenger to take on John McCain.

The Parraz campaign has posted a youtube ad on its site that makes this point in a powerful way. Check it out here.

john bonifaz

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Wednesday August 18, 2010 · 1:05 PM PDT

2010/08/18 · 13:05

My good friend Randy Parraz is running for the United States Senate in Arizona. He is in a close race for the Democratic Party’s nomination with the primary election next Tuesday, August 24, 2010. If he prevails (and the wind is now at his back), John McCain better watch out. Randy, the only Latino candidate for the US Senate in 2010 in the country, will mobilize voters across the State of Arizona who recognize that McCain is moving us backwards and that Randy Parraz represents the promise of our future.

john bonifaz

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Thursday March 18, 2010 · 8:24 PM PDT

2010/03/18 · 20:24

cross posted at http://www.freespeechforpeople.org/...

Doris “Granny D” Haddock recently passed away at the age of 100. When she was 89 years old, she started a walk across the country to call for an overhaul of our campaign finance system. Fourteen months and 3,200 miles later, she arrived in Washington, DC. Her action inspired people around the world and placed a spotlight on the corruption of money in politics and the critical need for reform.

When I heard the news that Doris had died, I thought about the fact that when she was born the Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution – guaranteeing women the right to vote – had yet to be enacted. In her lifetime, Doris saw nine different amendments enacted into the Constitution. She is a powerful example that change, including a constitutional amendment, can happen.

john bonifaz

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Thursday January 31, 2008 · 7:51 PM PST

2008/01/31 · 19:51

In tonight's debate, Hillary Clinton repeated her claim that she only voted for the October 2002 resolution on Iraq to allow for the resumption of UN inspections. Barack Obama countered, as he has before, that this is a question of who had the right judgment at the time. But there is another argument Obama ought to make which goes directly to the question of honesty with regard to Clinton and her vote.

john bonifaz

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Wednesday March 29, 2006 · 7:24 PM PST

2006/03/29 · 19:24

Yesterday, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. announced his endorsement of my candidacy for Secretary of State of Massachusetts. You can find our campaign's press release on this endorsement at www.johnbonifaz.com and you can read the full text of the endorsement at www.conyersblog.us

I am deeply honored to receive this endorsement. Congressman Conyers is a national hero. He represents what it means to stand up and fight for the basic principles of our democracy. I am proud to stand with him.

I am running for Massachusetts Secretary of State because I believe we need a pro-active leader in that office who will fight for our right to vote and create a model for free and fair elections for the nation. In response to Florida 2000 and Ohio 2004, we need a secretary of state who will fight to return voters to power. I am ready to be that secretary of state. I look forward to updating the dailykos community on further developments in this campaign.

Announcing My Candidacy for Secretary of State of Massachusetts

john bonifaz

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Thursday December 01, 2005 · 11:23 AM PST

2005/12/01 · 11:23

I am announcing today that I am a candidate for Secretary of State of Massachusetts in 2006, regardless of whether or not it will be an open seat.

I have reached this decision after exploring this candidacy for the past several months. During that time, I have met with people across the state who have urged that I mount this campaign and who are excited by the prospect of a Secretary of State committed to fighting for our democracy and for our right to vote.

I have also witnessed in recent weeks that the incumbent Secretary, William F. Galvin, is failing to live up to his responsibilities as the chief elections officer in the state. Here are a few key examples:
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